Witness: Fight that killed Mt. Pleasant man was quick

By SUSAN FIELD , @sfield_msun

Thursday, May 16, 2013

A Mount Pleasant woman said Thursday that the fight that killed 20-year-old Tyrone Stanley was no more than a minute long.

Karena Tucker also told jurors in Curtis Leachman’s murder trial that Leachman, 25, of Mount Pleasant showed up at a nearby home after the Nov. 24 stabbing, saying he was going to stab the people who saw what happened to Stanley.

Tucker also testified that she isn’t exactly sure the length of the altercation in which Leachman stabbed Stanley, but “it wasn’t a long fight at all.”

Tucker also testified that she didn’t see Leachman stab Stanley, but she saw the aftermath: Stanley grabbing his side, stumbling, and returning to his friend’s apartment at 112 S. Main St. from the hallway where the fight occurred.

Concerned about Stanley, Tucker followed him into the apartment, where “he dropped” next to a chair after spitting up blood.

Tucker told jurors she left right after that, because her ride was leaving, and went with five others to the nearby home.

Telling jurors in Judge Mark Duthie’s courtroom that “everything was a blur” until she was in the dining room at the home, Tucker said she saw Leachman go through the living room, saying “where are the witnesses at? I want to stab them.”

“I panicked,” Tucker said. “I was freaking out.”

Tucker testified that two people escorted Leachman out of the house and that she left, heading for Stanley’s mother’s home in Lake Isabella.

During questioning by defense attorney Thomas Weiss, Tucker said another woman at the home was standing close to Leachman, pointing at him and telling him he had to leave.

She also testified that she called a close friend of Stanley’s because she thought someone should be at the hospital for him.

After questioning by Isabella County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Robert Holmes, jurors had questions for Tucker, which Duthie read.

When asked if she called 911, Tucker said she did not, because her ride was leaving and she knew police would be at the hospital.

In response to another juror question, Tucker said she did not see the knife in Leachman’s hand when he threatened Stanley.